1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly, to a camera mounted on a vehicle. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for retrofitting a camera onto a vehicle.
2. Discussion of The Related Art
In general, cameras are mounted on vehicles so that a driver can see in blind spots of the vehicle on a monitor. A blind spot of a vehicle is an area near the vehicle that the driver can not readily see. Some blind spots are alleviated by the use of mirrors. However, some blind spots can only be monitored through the use of convex mirrors. Because of the visual distortion of a convex mirror, objects may be hard to discern in the convex mirror. Further, the relative distance of an object is difficult to assess in a convex mirror.
A camera can be mounted on the rear of a vehicle so that the driver can see behind the vehicle while backing up the vehicle. Typically, larger vehicles, such as buses and recreational vehicles have blind spots at the sides of the vehicle. Thus, a camera can be mounted on a side of a vehicle or rear part of the vehicle such that a driver can see in a blind spot at the side of the vehicle. The mounting of a camera is usually a retrofit or an add-on to a vehicle. In other words, the original styling of most vehicles does not include a built-in camera or a provision for an add-on camera.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a related art vehicle camera on a side of a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the related art vehicle camera 1 includes a camera body 10 mounted on a bracket 11 attached to the side of the vehicle 12. A housing 13 having window 14 for the camera body 10 is attached to the bracket 11 with bolts 15.
The relate art vehicle camera is obtrusive in appearance as compared to the original body style of the vehicle before the addition of the related art vehicle camera. Further, the related art vehicle camera blatantly has the appearance of being a camera such that theft of the related art vehicle camera is more probable. Furthermore, the related art vehicle camera requires drilling a hole in the vehicle or otherwise creating a mounting point on the vehicle.